Animal Planet’s mantra heading into the Puppy Bowl—its annual telecast featuring puppies playing football, held a few hours before the Super Bowl—is always, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. “We stick with what really works for us: putting puppies that are available for adoption up onscreen and letting them do their thing. That’s been the secret sauce,” said Jason Goldberg, vp, client and brand partnerships, Discovery Communications.

But for this year’s Puppy Bowl XIII, which airs next Sunday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET, the network has partnered with sponsors to add a few new bells and whistles, including virtual reality and branded content.

Animal Planet and Pedigree are bringing VR to the Puppy Bowl for the first time, providing a “pup’s-eye view” of the action via Buttons, one of the 78 adoptable puppies (from 34 animal shelters and rescue organizations nationwide) competing on “Team Ruff” and “Team Fluff.”